The Historic Core is an urban gem. Every time I’m feeling down about LA, I remind myself that that’s where the city first began and that it has the powerful potential to get both locals and non-locals alike to reimagine what DTLA can be moving forward. It represents the kind of high-quality urban template that simply can’t be recreated from scratch in today’s day and age.

On a side note, I always find it amusing how much tinier in real life the Predator 2 building (Eastern Columbia) and Die Hard building (yeah, I know not included in this photo thread for the obvious reason of being located elsewhere).

But damn, every time I make itnto downtown Los Angeles I have to spend a few minutes gawking like an idiot at the Eastern Columbia building, as it's such a fine specimen of art deco.

Nice photos! I love Downtown LA, and how there are so many different parts to it, each radically different from each other. The star is, of course, the Historic Core. I know the area is rapidly changing, and it's exciting to see, but it is currently so filthy and smelly. I went on an LA Conservancy tour of the Broadway theaters last weekend, and basically the entire stretch of Broadway from Pershing Sq. to Olympic reeked of piss. Saw 2 (!) piles of human shit, trash, dirty and sticky sidewalks, etc. I can overlook the abandonment of the upper floors, and the tacky stores jammed into the street level spaces of the theaters, but when you add the smells and filth, it really leaves a bad impression. I'm a local and used to it, but several people on the tour were from other states (couple from the UK, too) and they all were commenting on the dirtiness of downtown.